Well, it finally arrived and I took delivery yesterday. The M5 is one awesome car! The 200 mile ride home from the dealership was a driving experience unlike any other I've ever had in a car. The delivery was flawless and there were only 3 miles on the car. I love the Sterling Gray color. It's a distinguished sleeper color that doesn't attrack too much attention from the badged ones. Although, when it's lurking in the vicinity of a victim, the wide tires and low stance definitely lets the victim know that there is a Beast in its midst.
This board is great! I learned so much about the car before taking delivery that I was educating the salesperson on a few things. Now that I finally have my M5, I feel like one of the family. Thanks for all of the great posts in the past and for all of the great posts to come.
Well, I'm off to put so more break-in miles on it.
The BMW Driving Experience people actually called me a couple of days before I took delivery. I didn't know when I would have time to go yet so they said to call them back when I know. I'm looking forward to going soon. One of the things I was wondering was should I go during the winter or should I wait for the spring? In any case, I will be enjoying every mile I put on my new beast.
Although I've see several posts on the board about this already, I got some differing opinions on break-in from the dealership. One of the salesman at the dealership, who says he is an avid BMW driver, said that I should not baby he car during the break-in period. In addition, the service manager said almost the same thing. The service manager said that for the first 500 miles I should stay within the break-in rules. After that, he said other than not setting the car on cruise control, I don't have to do anything special. He said the worst thing I could do during the break-in period was to drive the car at a constant speed for extended periods of time. Both of them basically said that I should break the car in as I would normally drive it. What are some of your opinions on the subject?
I agree with your service advisor. However i wouldn't treat the 500mi mark as a switch - where you can go from obserrving the rules to no respect. Work up to longer periods of higher RPMS at greater power settings slowly over the ensuing 1000 miles. So - if you were on 5500RPM restriction, raise it to 6000 RPM for a few hundred, then 6500, then 7000. Don't STAY there too long - and get there at first at less than full throttle.
As you start to use full throttle, do it first in lower gears where the engine has more mechanical advantage, which tgranslates to lowercylinder pressures. work up to full throttle in higher gears over time.
Make sense?
Another piece of advice - leave DSC on for a while. Learn where it starts to come in - this will help you sense the car's limits safely. Although it is rather intrusive at ******ing wheel spin in straight-line acceleration, it is actually NOT intrusive like that in correcting for a swerve-induced loss of control - and as the limits of the car are already very high, it SHOULD take you MANY miles of working up to the car's limits to safely get a feel for them. Once you're ready, however, and you have room, you will be delighted to know that the car is extremely well balanced and controllable at the limit, even with DSC off. NEVER turn it off unless you have a specific goal in mind - always turn it back on the moment you don't NEED it off. when the unexpected happens on the freeway, and can and will save your life.
Enjoy getting to know your M5. I have 20000 miles and 22 months under my belt - and it STILL brings a smile to my face, and a sense of awe - every time I drive it.
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'00 M5 - The Ultimate Ultimate Driving Machine! Greg's M5 Page
'01 996 TT - Greg's Porsche Turbo Page
'00 A6 4.2 - doesn't deserve a web page
Vary the engine speed as much as possible during the first 1200 miles. No full throttle acceleration. You can still drive "fast", not all out. Do not exceed recommended RPM limit.
After 1,200 miles, gradually increase RPM limits and throttle until 3,000 miles. After that you can pretty much do what you want. Due to the synthetic oil, everything probably will not be broken in until 5-8,000 miles.
Always let the engine warm up completely before getting on the throttle.
This is based on 40 years of auto involvement, the feedback on this board, experience with my M5 and BMW.
Good motoring!
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-Bart
2002 Bluewater/caramel
Any other car is a compromise
A few days after I got mine I was in Monterey. At 2am I had awaken after nodding off to the TV. Though I was tired I was drawn to hop in the M and drive around for a while (just me and the police - who must have began to wonder if I was joyriding after seeing me for the second or third time in the same vicinity).
One happy M'er
CONGRATULATIONS 
but it went by so quickly.
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